Metro News & Reviews

New TAP card celebrates L.A.’s bid for Olympic and Paralympic Games

The LA 2024 bid to host the Summer Olympics has been in the news lately, with the International Olympic Committee earlier this week praising the bid, calling it “forward-looking, innovative, vibrant, and cool.”

A new TAP card will be available beginning Saturday, July 8, and highlights our region’s Olympic spirit — L.A. hosted the Summer Games in 1932 and 1984 — and our recent investments in transit that will connect fans to the Olympic venues. The idea is to create a connected, convenient and comfortable Games for athletes, visitors and residents to enjoy without worrying about traffic.

Check out this gif of LA’s transit system in 1984 and what it will look like in 2024:

To kick off the TAP card release, Olympians John Moffet and Alyssa Anderson as well as Paralympian Candace Cable greeted commuters this morning at the Expo line’s Downtown Santa Monica Station. Here are a couple of pics:

John Moffet at the DTSM Station this morning.

Paralympian skier and wheelchair racer Candace Cable.

The TAP cards are available for purchase for $1 at TAP vending machines (TVMs) at the stations listed below:

•Expo Park/USC Station on the Expo Line.

•Pico Station that serves both the Blue Line and Expo Line.

•Civic Center/Grand Park Station on the Red/Purple Line subway.

•7th St/Metro Center Station that serves the Blue, Expo and Red/Purple Line subway.

•Downtown Santa Monica Station on the Expo Line.

•Balboa Station on the Orange Line.

•Harbor Gateway Transit Center on the Silver Line.

•1st Street Station on the Blue Line.

•Hawthorne/Lennox Station on the Green Line.

•Memorial Park Station on the Gold Line.

•26th Street Station on the Expo Line.

The TAP vending machines that are stocked with the limited edition cards will be designated with a sticker that shows the TAP card above. Once cards are sold out, machines will no longer be restocked.

The stations above are near proposed Olympic and Paralympic venues, the bulk of which would be in four “Sports Parks” around the region.

While cards are being stocked today, we can’t guarantee the exact time they will become available, but all machines will be stocked by start of service tomorrow. While the cards are limited edition, they printed quite a few for this run so you won’t have to worry about them running out for awhile. 🙂

Yes, they are being loaded throughout today, which is why we recommend getting it tomorrow to guarantee they will be in stock. While the cards are limited edition, they printed quite a few for this run so you won’t have to worry about them running out for awhile.

Problems with the gif of the system:
1. by the time 2024 comes around the color of the lines will be different (Gold north of DTLa will be Blue and Expo will be Gold).
2. Won’t the Purple actually have some station open?
3. Won’t much of the Foothill extension be under construction?
4. Won’t the RC be complete?
5. Won’t the Crenshaw line be complete?